Sunday, July 5, 1998 Last modified at 1:33 a.m. on Sunday, July 5, 1998

Family members evacuate their home in a northern suburb of Athens as a wildfire burns through a residential neighborhood on Saturday, July 4, 1998. AP PhotoFires plague Mediterranean

High winds, temperatures keep blazes out of control

ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Out-of-control brush fires driven by gusting winds and high temperatures Saturday killed at least one person and forced the evacuation of patients from a Sicilian hospital.

The worst of a weeklong heat wave that has killed at least 10 people appeared to be abating Saturday. Temperatures dropped to 106 degrees in Athens and the low 90s in southern Italy, after reaching 118 degrees in some areas earlier in the week.

Winds, high temperatures and dry land, however, fanned fires in Greece and Italy.

A 67-year-old woman in Salamina in central Greece died after being hospitalized for smoke inhalation. At least five more people were hospitalized, including two soldiers who were trying to move weapons out of the path of a fire at Avlona, Greece's largest army base, 15 miles north of Athens.

Army personnel and fire-fighting planes joined the effort to combat fires raging out of control in virtually every part of the country. Officials estimated they had 180 fires nout of control as of midnight.

Burning brush sent a thick black cloud over the capital and the surrounding countryside.hkhh

Residents tried to beat out flames using branches, rocks and blankets.rrn-tf

A blaze in the woods outside Catania, in eastern Sicily, filled a hospital with smoke, and two helicopters lifted about 20 patients to safety, Italian news agency ANSA reported.

Authorities restricted water supplies in and around Bari, an Italian city on the Adriatic, after heavy use drastically lowered levels in water tanks, the AGI news agency said.

vtand-aaansifrxsWeather forecasters predicted a slight drop in temperature but said strong winds would continue throughout the weekend.